The present invention relates to a hand cleaning process and related unit that can easily be adapted to existing sinks, using existing cleansing materials, such as soap and sponges. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hand cleaning process for use in an operating room or medical setting that effectively improves the effectiveness of hand cleaning, which is performed by physicians and by other operating room or medical personnel prior to a surgery or medical procedure.
In general, a surgical prep sponge is used to clean the hands and arm area of a doctor or other medical professional prior to them participating in surgery. Although called a sponge, a surgical prep sponge is actually a combination of a sponge and a brush. The sponge portion can hold water and soap, and the brush can be used for scrubbing the user""s hands and arms.
Cleanliness of the hands, arms and fingernails is extremely critical in the operating room or in any medical setting where the hands enter a body cavity of another individual. In this type of cleaning process, a surgical prep sponge is generally held in one hand and used to brush against the other hand and arm in a back and forth cleaning motion. Recently, a sponge embedded with a cleaning agent has come into common use. After being wetted, a sudsing action occurs on the surface of the sponge, creating a germicidal reaction that cleans the hands.
It is known in the art that a good surgical prep is largely responsible for preventing the spread of bacteria entering through an open cavity or wound in a body during a surgical or medical procedure. It is also well known that increasing the time, agitation, and number of strokes involved in the scrubbing motion of a surgical prep, will directly reduce the number of bacteria present after the scrubbing.
Previously, a surgical prep sponge has been held in one hand to scrub the other hand and then transferred to the second hand to scrub the first, once the second hand is clean.
However, this process leaves open the possibility of cross contamination since the person scrubbing their hands must take hold of the non-sterile sponge with their just-cleaned hand before they can clean their other hand. Any bacteria that may have been deposited on the sponge by the user""s second hand could then be transferred to the user""s first hand, undermining the entire cleaning process.
Then, when the cleaning process is complete, the medical professional must use one hand to throw away the used sponge, meaning that at least one of the user""s hands will have touched the non-sterile sponge after the cleaning process, leaving open the possibility of cross contamination.
Although the chance of such cross contamination resulting from this is small, it does remain as a potential source of infection for the patient, and so should be avoided if possible.
In addition, since the scrubbing action is performed by hand, it may be non-uniform, or shorter than a desired duration. If the person cleaning their hands is tired, or dislikes the repetitive back and forth motion, they may use fewer or less vigorous strokes than would be preferable for an effective cleaning process.
Furthermore, although surgical preparation is a situation in which the concern with cleanliness is great, it is by no means the only venue that could benefit by an improved hand washing system. Any hospital or other medical or dental facilities has a need to minimize the spread of infectious bacteria and will be concerned with cleanliness, particularly with regards to the hands of the medical staff.
Similarly, with the threat of such communicable diseases as hepatitis A, the food preparation and production industry has a similar need to secure a better means to improve their cleanliness in order to reduce the risk that any disease will be spread. And any job that requires cleanliness, either before or after work, whether it be at a tissue bank, in a clean room environment, in a factory environment, or the like, could benefit from an improved hand washing technique.
Furthermore, there are some people who are handicapped, whether temporarily or permanently, and have lost all or part of the use of their hands. For these people it would be desirable to have a method by which they could quickly and effectively wash their hands, whether it be at home, at work, or while traveling.
These problems can be solved by using a cleaning device disclosed in the present invention, improvements in function are immediately obvious.
It is an object of the invention to improve or eliminate the aforementioned problems accompanied with the conventional method of scrubbing for a surgical or medical procedures, in which a surgical scrub sponge is used, without causing major changes in the current methods for preparing for a medical procedure.
According to the invention, a modular surgical prep sponge holder is provided, This modular surgical prep sponge holder comprises a movement-plate, a surgical sponge connected to the movement-plate, a lateral motion generator for moving the movement-plate and the surgical sponge in a lateral direction, and a water line for supplying water to the surgical sponge.
The lateral motion generator may comprise a wheel, a rotational motion generator for moving the wheel in a rotational direction, a motion transfer device to convert rotational movement of the wheel into lateral movement of the movement-plate.
The transfer device preferably comprises a drive shaft pin connected to the wheel; the movement-plate preferably contains a drive-pin slot; and the drive shaft pin is preferably placed within the drive-pin slot to convert the rotational movement of the wheel into the lateral movement of the movement-plate.
The rotational motion generator can be controlled by a device operable by a foot or leg. The rotational motion generator may comprise a flexible shaft connected to the wheel, the flexible shaft being rotated to provide the rotational movement of the wheel. The rotational motion generator may also comprise a stream of high-pressure water that pushes against the wheel, causing the wheel to move in the rotational direction.
The wheel is preferably a main gear. In this case, the rotational motion generator may comprise a pinion gear connected in an interlocking fashion with the main gear, and a flexible shaft connected to the pinion gear, wherein the flexible shaft is rotated to provide rotational movement to the pinion gear, and the rotational movement of the pinion gear is transferred into the rotational movement of the main gear.
The movement-plate and the lateral motion generator are preferably placed within an outer housing. The flexible shaft and the water line are both preferably contained within a tube housing. The amount of water supplied to the surgical sponge can be controlled by a device operable by a foot or leg. And the modular surgical prep sponge holder may further comprise a soap dispenser for dispensing cleansing agents.
The modular surgical prep sponge holder may further comprise a swivel head connected to the movement-plate, the swivel head allowing the movement-plate to move along 180 degrees of motion. The sponge is preferably attached to the movement-plate through the use of spring tension end clasps.
In addition, a cleaning device is provided in accordance with this invention. The cleaning device comprises a movement-plate; a sponge connected to the movement-plate; a lateral motion generator for moving the movement-plate and the sponge in a lateral direction; and a water line for supplying water to the sponge.
The lateral motion generator may itself comprise a wheel; a rotational motion generator for moving the wheel in a rotational direction; and a motion transfer device to convert rotational movement of the wheel into lateral movement of the movement-plate.
The cleaning device may further comprise a housing cover to protect the movement plate; and a swivel head connected to the housing cover, the swivel head allowing the housing cover to move along 180 degrees of motion.